


The Time for Sleep Is Now

by ShowMeAHero



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Established Relationship, Heavy Angst, Humor, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 00:24:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14484609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowMeAHero/pseuds/ShowMeAHero
Summary: Erik and Charles meet up in the same spot, in the same park, at the same time, every day.For now.





	The Time for Sleep Is Now

**Author's Note:**

> I've already seen _Infinity War_ TWICE and my life is collapsing.
> 
> The (horrifically long) title taken from ["I Will Follow You into the Dark"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDHY1D0tKRA) by Death Cab for Cutie.

Erik leaned back in his park seat, sunglasses still firmly in place, pretending he wasn’t looking for anyone at all. Of course, everyone else in the section of the park that had the chessboards knew that Erik Lehnsherr waited at the same chessboard, every day, for the same man, who was never late. As if right on cue (and he nearly was — he showed up at the same time every day), Charles came around down the path, his hoverchair carrying him at what Erik vaguely considered an unsafe speed. Erik raised a hand in greeting; Charles waved right back at him.

“Hello, my friend,” Charles said. Erik barely lifted a hand to slide the chair opposite him out of the way. Charles slid his hoverchair into the newly-unoccupied space. “I was surprised you still wanted to meet today.”

“We’re old men, Charles,” Erik said, making his first move on the board. “Whatever’s going on in— Where was it?”

“Wakanda,” Charles replied, pushing his own piece.

“Wakanda,” Erik repeated. “Whatever’s going on there, we can’t help.”

“You’ve never been a frail old man,” Charles said, and Erik smiled at him, all teeth. Some things never changed. “Oh, don’t taunt me.”

“I’ll taunt you if I want,” Erik replied. Charles smiled back at him. “Regardless, I don’t think we can help.”

“Oh, two of the most powerful mutants on Earth can’t  _ possibly  _ help,” Charles commented.

“Against aliens?” Erik argued. Charles raised his eyebrows.

“Like we haven’t battled stranger?” Charles countered. Erik half-shrugged.

“They know we exist,” Erik replied. “That Stark character, Howard’s boy.”

“Tony,” Charles reminded him. “Sometimes I wonder if your memory’s going, then I just remember you’re an ass.”

“It’s not nice to call a frail old man an ass,” Erik said, and Charles picked up one of his rooks and flung it at him. Erik caught it in mid-air with his abilities and settled it back down on the board. “Touché.”

“I do what I can,” Charles replied.

_ “Regardless,”  _ Erik continued, “Tony Stark and you, don’t you keep in contact? He would’ve called you.”

“He’s been missing for days,” Charles told him. Erik glanced up at him.

“Has he?” Erik asked. Charles sighed.

“I’m getting you a radio,” Charles said. “At  _ least,  _ if you insist on not having a smartphone.”

“I get all my news—”

“Through the radio-waves,” Charles finished with him, synchronized. Erik scowled at him.

“Well, I do,” Erik said.

“Apparently not as well as you once did,” Charles said. “Tony Stark’s missing. I reached out to Captain Rogers, but he told me to remain on standby.”

“See? Nothing to worry about,” Erik said. “We had our turn. This is their work now, to defend the planet from… aliens, and the like.”

“I remember when our worst problems were so much easier,” Charles sighed. He pushed another piece. “Like  _ you.  _ You’re not so big a problem as aliens.”

“Am I insulted or flattered?” Erik asked, and Charles smiled at him, warm, affectionate. Erik felt a swell of emotion that settled right away, an old, old love that never quite went away. As if he could feel it (and he probably could), Charles reached out his hand across the chessboard. Erik took it and squeezed it, then brought it to his lips and kissed the back.

“Flattered,” Charles said. “If you were much more trouble, I wouldn’t’ve bothered.”

“Well, then, I’ll be insulted,” Erik replied. Charles squeezed his hand again, and Erik stood, just slightly, to lean across the chessboard and kiss Charles, lightly.

“Good to see you, too,” Charles said, and Erik smacked him on the side of the head before sitting down. “Age made you soft.”

“Look who’s talking, Professor,” Erik said, squeezing Charles’ hand one last time before releasing him and returning his attention to their game. He pushed one piece and said, “Check,” then looked up at Charles, who was staring to his left. “Charles? What is it?”

“Something’s wrong,” Charles said. He turned back to Erik, and the expression on his face was one Erik had not seen in a long time, and had hoped never to see again. The constant presence of Charles’ mind in the back of his own felt disrupted; it always shifted like that when Charles felt something too strongly to completely control. He knew Erik could handle it; Erik liked being someone who could handle Charles.

“What’s wrong?” Erik asked. Charles pulled back from the table, starting to move deeper into the park; Erik got to his feet to follow him, and almost slammed into the back of his chair when Charles came to a sudden stop. “Charles?”

“Look,” Charles said, pointing up. Erik followed his focus up to the sky, where a plane was starting to go down. Erik lifted a hand and turned it back, guiding it as best as he could down to an unoccupied patch of land. Charles’ feelings in his head were getting more and more frantic, more confused, more alarmed.

“What’s happening?” Erik asked. Charles didn’t look back at him.  _ “Charles.” _

“I don’t know,” Charles replied. “I’ve never felt anything like this before. Ever.”

“What does it feel like?” Erik asked, putting one hand on Charles’ shoulder. Charles looked up at him, all blue eyes and creased brows and fear — terrifying, deep  _ fear. _

“Something’s wrong,” Charles repeated. “People are vanishing.”

_ “Vanishing?”  _ Erik echoed. “Explain.”

“They’re just… They’re just stopping. They stop existing.” Charles snapped his fingers. “Gone, just like that, without any warning—  _ Oh,  _ my God, Erik, look.”

Erik’s head snapped around to where Charles was looking in time to see a woman lifting her hand as it disintegrated into pieces. She was shrieking, screaming for help, and in a second, she wasn’t there anymore. Erik looked around, and it was happening to dozens of people in the park, all at once. Charles’ presence in his head intensified, more strongly than he’d felt in a long time, like the two of them were sharing the worst migraine. Charles had been in Erik’s head for decades; he was exceedingly used to it, and actually sort of loved it, but  _ this—  _ he had never anticipated it feeling anywhere close to  _ this. _

“Erik,” Charles said, and Erik glanced down at him. Charles’ presence in the back of his head started to fade, and Erik’s first thought was  _ Oh, thank God, it’s ending.  _

His next thought was,  _ No. _

Charles lifted his hand; his fingertips were starting to disintegrate, to separate from his body and float away into ash. Erik grabbed Charles’ hands in his and came around to the front of the chair.

“Charles, what do I do?” Erik demanded, and Charles shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I can’t find anything,” Charles said. “Nobody knows what’s happening.” His eyes snapped open, crystal-blue, and looked right into Erik’s, all fear and desperation. “I don’t know how to stop it.”

“Charles,” Erik said, despairing. Charles shook his head, and Erik knelt before him, yanking him into his arms, trying to ground him there, to keep him from going away like the others around them. Charles’ right side was nearly gone, and Erik pulled back to look at his face, and in a second, there was nothing. Charles was gone, completely gone; all that was left was ash on his chair, getting blown onto the ground in the breeze. The feeling of Charles in Erik’s head, so present since the first day they met, was gone entirely. Nothing, nothing at all. No thread to follow; no thought to hold onto. No mutant took him, no villain, no enemy. Just  _ nothingness. _

“Oh, God,” Erik said, still crouched on the ground in front of the empty chair. He fell back and just barely stopped himself from ending up face-down on the stones below him. There were still screams all around him, still ash smeared on his palms, and no Charles. No Charles at all, and  _ Charles  _ was the one who always knew what to do, and, now, he—

Erik pressed his face into his hands, a broken old man, and sobbed.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a blog now to request imagines - I just like to make people happy. Submit requests [here!](https://imagine-in-the-fandoms.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
> I also actually wrote a book. It was a long road but, I did it! Ta-da It's about two young ladies who hunt aliens and fall in love. If you want to read it, shoot me a message!
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter at [@nicoIodeon](https://twitter.com/nicoIodeon) or on Tumblr at [andillwriteyouatragedy](http://andillwriteyouatragedy.tumblr.com/).


End file.
